When I volunteered to write the review for The Slowest Burn by Typokween I sat and stared at my word document. What can you say about a story that captivates you, makes you drop everything when it updates, and has you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what’s going to happen next?

Well, I just said it didn’t I?

The Slowest Burn had me from the first chapter. It depicts a real world where high school kids don’t have the perfect lives. And I love a possessive Edward and a not so naïve Bella.

Bella is a high school student struggling to make it. She used to be invisible, unpopular, until she became friends with Rosalie Hale. Then she joined the cheerleading squad and her life became that of one of the ‘cool kids’. But was she ready for it? And really is it all it’s cracked up to be? Bella is learning that maybe it isn’t. She hooks up with Edward and gets dragged into his world; his obsession with her is a little scary to her until she gets to know him further, but he is hard to read and doesn’t give out a lot of information about himself, even to her, and he loses his temper a lot.

"Hello, Bella."

I blink in surprise. "How do you know my name?"

He smirks and touches my cheek with his thumb. "I know everything about you, Isabella Swan…"

I gulp and turn my head. "How do you know my name?" I repeat, practically growling as I shoulder his arm away from me.

"Jacob Black," he says in defeat and leans against the rail again, but this time his side is pressed against mine.

I snort, "Of course." I shake my head. "Well I hope you know that he and I are not friends anymore," I snap.

"Really?" he teases me. "Hard to tell, what with the way you each act like the other one doesn't exist and all," he mutters sarcastically.

I turn to tell him to mind his business when I hear Jessica, on the other side of the glass door, asking if anyone's seen me.

"Shit," I curse under my breath. "You have to hide me." I look up at Cullen and clutch his sweater in my hands. "Please," I beg him.

His face hardens in concern. "Is someone bothering you?"

I pull on his sweater and start for the stairs. "No! Just come on! I don't feel like pretending to be sweet, little Isabella Swan right now, okay? Can you understand that? You look like a guy who plays a role. Don't you ever just want to be your fucking self sometimes?"

He removes my fingers from his sweater and links them with his own. "There's a pool house around back," he replies.

I grin at him. "Perfect, let's go." I yank him along with me.

Edward is an emancipated minor and has had a tough upbringing. He deals drugs and has a major temper; his life is complicated to say the least. Throughout the story we get hints that he’s had a thing for Bella for years. I fell in love with Edward right from the start, there is just something about the way he’s so angry and possessive that gets to me.

"Do you…" he pauses and buries his face in my hair while his hands squeeze my waist almost painfully.”Do you have any idea how long I've-" he exhales a shaky breath and slides one of his hands up my waist and over my breasts to cup my face and tilt my face towards his.

I know he means to kiss me, just like Jasper had when we were at Giovanni's. And just like at Giovanni's I know that if I kiss Cullen right now we'll be together. Because I don't know who Cullen is, but I know he's intense and completely possessive and territorial. I've watched him over the years, unintentionally picking up on his habits. I remember that night, the same way I remember how his lips felt against mine and how his mouth tasted. What it feels like when he bunches my breasts up in his hands. I suddenly have a hard time breathing.

"I have to go," I mutter truthfully.

He slides his nose down the side of my face and hovers his lips over mine. "No you don't," he whispers without kissing me.

"Yes I do. Please let me go," I beg him with my eyes clenched shut. "I can't do this right now, okay? I just—oh!" I gasp when he thrusts his hips against me and I feel every inch of him pressed along my body. I open my eyes and whimper every time he rubs against me with his hips, causing enough friction between us to start a fire.

"If I see him touch you like that again?" his eyes stare daggers at my own before he leans down and whispers into my ear, "I will break his throwing arm."

We meet a lot of supporting cast members along the way that are important to the detailed storyline.

Royce is Edward’s best friend and partner in crime. He also had a secret affair with Rosalie.

Rosalie is Bella’s best friend whose parents are important members of the community and leave her to deal with her own problems alone. She’s not as perfect as she appears on the outside and I find her to be a little judgmental when it comes to Bella and what could affect her reputation.

Emmett and Jasper go to school with Bella and Rosalie and are on the football team. Jasper and Bella have a short relationship, but really she is only with him for his ‘status’. And Emmett is a great friend who likes Rosalie even though she has her problems and stands by both her and Bella when times are tough.

Jake is an old friend of Bella’s who hangs around with Edward and hasn’t spoken to Bella since she became popular.

And then there’s Alice. She’s the character I love to hate. She gets to me every time she appears. She is in love with Edward, and is jealous of his relationship with Bella, and as such causes trouble between them every moment she can.

There are so many different passages I could post but the truth is I couldn’t choose which ones, so if you want to know more you just gotta go read!
The Slowest Burn by Typokween is an edgy, dirty-dark real-life kind of story. It’s written from Bella’s point of view and her internal monologue is great, she’s just a regular high school kid dealing with life, love and friends.

I’ve seen a lot of tweets and comments on Facebook about The Slowest Burn. There are a group of people who think it’s just about screwing and fighting. Which, I guess there is a lot of. But it’s so well written and there is a lot more going on than just the sex and violence on the surface. The lemons are hot; I’m not gonna lie. They are graphic and not glossed over. But from Bella’s point of view it just fits. Same goes for the violence, which really I think there isn’t that much of, and yes there are arguments but that goes with the territory when your boyfriend needs anger management!

When you scratch the surface and delve into it, it’s a great read. Check it out!

Nat
xx

Wild Horses by Mandyleighhttp://www.fanfiction.net/s/7680652/1/Wild_Horses
They say wild horses should run unbridled or the spirit dies. They weren't meant to be contained. Neither was I. Sometimes you have to go back to who you were to find your place. All it took was one summer. And one smile from a boy I used to know. BxE Twilight - Rated:M
Reviewed by: Cejstwimom

Everyone knows that moment. That point in your life when you know that everything's going to be different, right? Like with the flip of a switch you realize everything has changed and nothing you knew would ever be the same. You wouldn't be the same. I wish I could say that I recognized that moment when it hit me, but I didn't. Instead it came and went as quick as the slamming door on a rusty beat up Chevy truck. Leaving me so completely oblivious to the fact that it had even happened that I couldn't have possibly prepared myself. It was the summer before I left for college. Everything was about to change. I was about to change. And so begins MandyLeigh87's captivating story "Wild Horses". Having last visited her father Charlie's ranch when she was five, Bella’s journey back is more than she bargained for. She is about to learn more about herself, than she ever knew, through the eyes of someone who very much remembers that last visit. It is through his attempts at taming a wild horse named Lightning, where Bella is reminded of her love of her life.

"Lightning?" I whispered. I took a few tentative steps forward until I was close enough to touch it. I reached my hand out and brushed it against his nose. It snorted but didn't move. I inched my hand up its long snout and scratched right between its eyes.

I pulled myself up onto the wooden fence so I could get closer. Lightning suddenly bucked back and hit me square in the chest with his head. I fell back and landed with a thud against the hard ground.

"Ouch!" I winced. That fucking hurt.

"Are you okay ma'am?" I instantly recognized the man's voice from earlier a moment before a pair of hands picked me up from the ground.

"Yes. And I'm not old enough to be a ma'am." I spun around and my breath hitched in my throat. He was close enough that I could actually see him now. The moonlight was playing perfectly off his messy hair and highlighted his jawline. There was something almost familiar in his eyes but I knew it was impossible. I didn't even know him. "Thanks," I whispered.

"Bella?" He asked. My brow furrowed in confusion. I never told him my name. And even if Charlie had, only my friends and family ever called me Bella.

"Do I know you?" I took a step back.

"I'm Edward. I work for your dad."

"Yeah I know. How did you know my name?"

He smirked at me and ran his fingers through his hair. "I see you've met Lightning."

"Seems to have a little attitude problem."

"Not really. Just not too keen on being tamed," he laughed.

"Isn't that the same thing?"

Bella’s time at the ranch has her reconnecting with her past while working towards her future. Reliving some childhood moments with Edward are beautiful reminders of forgotten times, wants and desires. Having no recollection of any of her stays at the ranch, Bella relies on Edward to show her the ropes and to provide the stories of her past. Probably one of the more original settings for their relationship to develop takes place in a storm cellar, also a memory of from their first time together.

"You were my first kiss, Bella. You swept me right off my feet." He smirked and started kicking around the dirt on the ground. I'd always thought my first kiss was with buck-toothed Billy behind the slide on the playground when I was ten. Thank God.

"And then I left you," I said dramatically. "Has all the makings of a soap opera tragedy." I opened the jar and tried to catch another firefly.

"Well I don't know about that. I mean you did come back."

My breath hitched in my throat when he took another step towards me. "So…what else do you know about me?"

He smiled and sighed. "We used to run through Farmer Johnson's fields in the back and pretend we were flying. And we built a fort in the storm cellar and developed our own language. Your dad and Pop used to take us fishing with them at the pond and we'd float around in the little rowboat while they drank beer and talked sports. Sometimes at night, when the sky was really clear, we would sit out in the yard on a blanket and make shapes out of the stars." He shook his head. "And one time I conned Pop into driving me out here late at night. I stole your horse from the stable, threw rocks at your window and asked if you wanted to take a ride with me."

This completed story totally captivated my attention as it updated as there are many underlying themes throughout which made it such an interesting story to read. The author defines it as a "’Country Fried Fairytale’. It's overly romantic and fairly fluffy”, but it really is so much more. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

Outbound by Aftrnoondlight (repeat winner!!)http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7239880/1/Outbound
Two beautiful souls humbly traveling life's lonely path, until fate suddenly shows her hand. Will Edward and Bella surrender willingly... A tender, romantic tale of love and life in the clouds.
Twilight - Rated: M

Reviewed by: Les Sharpe

Okay, confession time.

When I was asked to write the review for Outbound this week, of course I was honored to be able to write some words about one of my very favorite stories. Then, I thought to myself, boy, this will be an easy one, because I've already written a review for a different site and I figured,hey, I'll just tweak that one a bit, and viola, I'll be done.

Well, that was all fine and dandy until I read the review I'd written previously and realized that I wrote it when Outbound was still a WIP, before I was able to appreciate this amazing story by aftrnoondlight in all its completed glory. So, now I'm going to start from scratch (even if I use some of the same words) ... not to mention, writing a new review meant re-reading Outbound, and that is NEVER a bad thing.

aftrnoondlight is made up of authors jarkin33 and phoebes.promise, both talented in their own right, but put them together, and well, the talent pool has increased at least a hundred fold, maybe even a thousand. The way they weave words together to make them more ... more than just letters on a page, or a screen, is unparallelled. Words that make you see and feel and hear and carry you away, always leaving you wanting more.

One of my favorite lines from the whole story is the second sentence of the very first paragraph ... yes, people, the second one!

Edward owns a restaurant, Breeze, that he inherited from his mother when she passed away six years ago. This Edward, well, he's as swoony as they come. All sexy and flirty, confident with a dash of vulnerability thrown in just to make him even more … he's almost too much. White shirt with one button too many undone, dark blue jean, platinum watch-wearing, beer aficionado too much.

He propped, resting his head against his hand. The shine of his large watch illuminated green eyes. He considered, thought and pause; his face was suddenly so expressive and beautiful.

"The flavor is almost impossible to define… right? It's mysterious, overwhelming. So much happening at once." He trailed a finger near my temple, agonizing and igniting. "It reminds me of a complicated woman who's worth… every moment of trouble." My hand was in his, teasing across knuckles. "So… did I accomplish my goal?"

"Your goal?" I whispered, lost in sensation, as fingers dusted across my palm."The beer. You'll come have another… with me… soon?"

"Wait." Pulling me to stand, he kept a firm grasp. "We'll go together. Let me just get the lights."

Swoon.

And Bella … I love Bella. She's one of my favorite Bella's. She's quirky and natural. She blushes and rambles and says the most bizarre things. She's also a flight attendant. After a night where their physical connection takes over, they meet again on a flight from Chicago to New York City where Edward is going to visit his sister, Rose, who is dying of cancer. Their emotional connection grows, strengthens, with each encounter.

"My turn." The hum and flow of the high altitude silenced her approach. She lingered, barely tapping the rim of a short, simple wine glass.

"Thanks." I mirrored her genuine smile and attempt. "Are you going to school me on the fine wine of Eclipse Air…"

"I can… I could, you know." She leaned for privacy, playfully narrowing gorgeous eyes. "I'm pretty damn prolific in the vino department. You and your beer snob presentation… I could totally take you down." She erupted in a self-inflicted blush, shifting in very high, dark wedge heels. "I still can't believe this," she hushed, wrinkling her nose.

Of course there's sex. There's hot, sultry, passionate sex. These two are old enough to know what they like and aren't afraid to ask for it. They're not afraid to enjoy each other, and boy do they ever, even during a bout of the flu and during a wedding reception … not their own in case you were wondering.

In the midst of this whirlwind love affair, there are plenty of others to watch this journey. Bella's niece, Mak, who thinks her Aunt B is all that and a bag of chips. Edward's nephew, Henry, piano maestro at age 10 ... taught by none other than his Uncle Edward. Rose is a shooting star, appearing and disappearing so fast, but you'll pay attention while she's here. And then … there's Aunt Mary. Lord have mercy! Without a doubt the best original character I've ever come across. Truly.

"Well come, come… My god! This is exciting. Isn't this exciting…" She motioned, gripping my shoulders, reaching high to kiss my cheek. "Of course it's you. Well that's just fine. I'm Mary. Mary Swan. Aunt Mary…. and for once our Isabella didn't exaggerate." Pulling, taking the goods and treats from my arms, she leaned close. "You know, she's wordy, that one…" Turning, gesturing to follow, she shouted behind. Shades of yellow, green, purple covered and decorated, blending into pine floors and cabinets. "You're as gorgeous as she told us." More winking over animal print glasses, she had a warm, natural aura and ease.

I want an Aunt Mary, just saying.

Outbound is a love story, but it's more. It's a story about family, but it's more. It's a story about not waiting to take what you want, but it's more. Outbound is incredible, but … more. Jaime and Phoebe are two of my very favorite people who have written some of my most favorite stories. Read this one. As I often tell these two beautiful girls - their words make my heart happy. I promise they'll do the same for yours.

Erin~ (les16)

Meet the Masens by FictionFreak95 (repeat winner!!)http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6987169/1/Meet_the_Masens
Edward Cullen was done with cons until Marcus Volturi pulled him back in for one more job with his new front man, Bella Swan. Edward wants out for good but in a world based on deceit, who can he trust? AH BxE possible lemons if they don't kill each other. Twilight - Rated: M
Reviewed by: Crooked Smile

Don’t you love it when a heated fight turns into a steamy fuck? Take the Masens’ life as a long, in one way or another still ongoing, fight that makes you say “Fuck it out already people, you know you want to.” Fear not. ‘Slam her against the wall, bite his stubborn neck’ fuck is closer than you think. But, not yet. Because we are talking about two equally stubborn and thick headed people here. Even their first interaction says a lot about what is about to come. Other than the Masens. *snickers*

~"Excuse me," she said all…complete snob and a half like. Which was all I needed.

"You're excused," I told her, not really bothering to look at the person who was acting like I'd purposefully thrown her off her time table for the day.

I mean, if she was that worried, maybe she should've left a little earlier, right?

"You've got like…four carry-ons. And you're only allowed one."

"I don't really think that's anything for you to worry about, do you?" I asked her while I took my shoes off to put into the bins the airline had so graciously supplied.

She laughed. But not really, it was more like a, "I'm so not amused with your sarcasm", snort, actually.

"I think it absolutely is something for me to worry about, considering the security guards are no doubt going tocatch you, stop the line, take…for-ever to frisk you, since you look…" she eyed me up and down once or twice. "Completely cocaine dealer-ish…"
~

The winner of the first round is Bella. Or not. Soon enough, it comes clear that Cocaine Dealerish Edward is not the type that gives up easily.

~Then I noticed the shoes…which explained why she was eye to eye with me.

I smiled taking her in and that just made her scowl a little more.

"Six inches?" I questioned her. "Compensating for something?"

She bent down to take them off and start her own bin, which was going to be completely bare except for those, a watch and her purse…which looked pretty goddamn expensive too.

I pulled my sunglasses down a tad, peeking over the brim of them, tilting my head a little, noticing the perfect shape of her…

Nice ass, I thought and I coulda sworn she lingered in that position a little too long for someone who was simply taking her fucking shoes off.

Not that I was complaining or anything.
~

Ah. Can you spell foreplay? Because it has just begun.

~"Well?" she pushed me.

"Well…what?"

"Are you going to go check your bags?"

I laughed through my nose at her, thinking…she was kinda cute now that she was her normal smurf like size. I wondered if that would somehow make up for her pain in the ass attitude, in the bedroom.

"No."

She snorted again. "Jerk."

I laughed. She was kinda fun. In a very annoying kind of way.

"Brat."

She made a face at my retort. "Asshole."

I turned my attention back to my things. "Bitch."

"Dick."

I shot my eyebrows up a little and looked to her again. "Don't make me break out the big guns, now," I warned her, settling on the fact that no…the cuteness definitely wouldn't make up for her pain in the ass attitude, in the bedroom.
~

But turns out, it does. Their bedroom activities will make up more than her pain in the ass attitude. We discover it right along with Edward. Or Masen, like Meet the Masen readers like to call him. The Masens soon learn that their ‘not so cute’ cute-meet is not the end of their interaction. They have to work together for an undercover mission and act like… wait for it… husband and wife.

~"Partnering me up with…Bellatrix over here is one thing…"

"Bella," she corrected me, almost ready to reach across the table and bitch slap me again.

"But married? Really?"

Married?

Really?
~

Oh yes, Edward, really. That’s the sweetest relief for both of them because they cannot get enough off of each other in an “I wanna stub you with my fork. Repeatedly.” way.

~"Don't bullshit a bullshitter, Becka. You're not a hundred percent on board with this job anymore than I am."

She spun on me. "It's Bella. B. E. L. L. A." she told me and I resisted the urge to smirk at her. "Do you think you can try to remember that inside that pea sized brain of yours somehow? Edward?"

Twitch.

"Marcus…You can't really expect me to work with this…" Bella Swan threw a hand toward me and I scowled.

"Well it hasn't exactly been a bottle of sunshine getting to know you, either, Barbie."
~

Thank God, they both are very professional and so damn good at what they are doing. No matter how much they kick, scream, fight, yell…like hell when they are alone, when they have to fake it, they fake it perfectly and become this completely in fakelove couple. They give one another cheekhurtingyly big smiles, while people are watching, and those very smiles turn into mean sneers the moment others get distracted. Still, the Masens, as their fake identities indicate, don’t miss any opportunity to step on each other’s toes.

~"I call the master!" Bella screamed from somewhere, and I thought about how completely appropriate it was that she'd just assume she was head of the household. I actually had to shake my head at her complete control freak persona. She really needed to lighten up a little.

"Lady who wants to suckmydicksayswhat?" I yelled back, and she said, "What?" causing me to squint my eyes shut and silently laugh at how easily she'd fallen for that old trick.

I chuckled some more. "Bitchandahalfsayswhat!"

"WHAT?"

My ribs hurt from the soundless laughter coming out of me and, to answer your question, yes, I'm that immature.

"You call the what?" I yelled out, trying to stifle the tears of joy in anxious abatement for her reply.

"MASTER!"

"Coming!" I yelled in a victorious screech, giving a good, strong fist pump into the air and she hollered back, "ASSHOLE!"~

We watch them find many new ways to drive each other crazy, then go back to their professional selves, to the act of affectionate couple. Till… they realize… that they are not faking their affections anymore. And then from that point, it gets really complicated. Which, in the end, reaches to a perfect conclusion.

In this fandom, it is a well know fact what a great writer Jo is. She changes the plot with twists and turns. Adds her unique sense of humor. Makes her characters come alive with the amount of detail she adorns them with. If you want to read a great story with good humor and a sweet plot that will leave you speechless, then Meet the Masens.

We Come to Life Beneath the Stars by Lillybellis (repeat winner!!)http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6058476/1/
As Bella Swan starts over with hopes of finding her future, Edward Cullen is hanging on desperately to his past. She's treading water, and he's a corporate golden boy. They share an office, but few words...until one night changes everything. Twilight - Rated: M

Reviewed by: Nolebucgrl

When I was asked to do a review for this story, I was panicked because there’s no way that anything I say could possibly capture what Lillybellis does with her beautiful words. She’s a true talent and We Come to Life Beneath the Stars captivated me from the beginning. It starts with a simple family dinner, only there’s not much simple about it. Bella’s started a new job and her mother, Renee, isn’t happy about it. Her mother isn’t happy about much that Bella does, from the sound of it. And her brother, Emmett, and father, Charlie, are stuck being the peacemakers between the two.

Bella’s dissatisfied with more than just her job. Her longtime boyfriend, Jake, just doesn’t do it for her anymore either. She tries, one more time, to feel something, anything, with him but she can’t, so she ends that relationship as well. Her mother isn’t happy about that either, not surprisingly.

"Once he's away for a while, you'll begin to see things clearly," Mom says with determination.

My mother is under the impression that I'm walking through life in some kind of bubble that prevents me from seeing the way things really are. She thinks her harebrained daughter flits around the world in oblivion, while she sits in her kitchen in the middle of Nowhere, Washington, able to understand everything. In her mind, she is the seer of Truth, and it's her mission in life to protect me from myself.

"You'll wind up regretting this." Her voice is firm. "You don't know that now, but you will."

"I don't regret it," I say forcefully. "I regret not doing it sooner." I cringe at the way my voice sounds, how harsh my words are. But I don't take them back.
Mom breathes my name with a sigh. "You can't possibly think that you-"

"You're right, Mom." My voice is all agitation and tightly wound control. "You, who have never spent more than two days at a time with Jake, are right. I, his girlfriend of six years who lived with him, cleaned up after him, slept with him and loved him, I just don't know what in the hell I'm talking about."

I already feel tension winding its way up to my forehead, tying itself in a knot so tight that I'll need two cups of coffee and three Advil to get it to loosen.

All their conversations seem to take this tone and Bella can’t handle it anymore. She’s trying to live a new life and with a new job comes new people, including one Edward Cullen. Like the rest of Bella’s interactions we’ve seen in the early going, this one doesn’t seem to go very well.

I'm startled when someone clears their throat behind me, and when I turn around, Edward Cullen is staring down at me like he's just caught me shoplifting or committing some other kind of misdemeanor. His piercing green eyes stare coldly at my own, but I don't move a muscle. He wants me to shrink from him, but I refuse. Instead, I lift my shoulders and straighten my back, rising to whatever challenge he's about to throw at me.

"When you're finished decorating like this is your second home, alphabetize these by last name, and make me three copies," he says, before throwing a file folder onto my desk.

There is no please, and no thank you. He just barks orders at me like a commander, and when I don't respond, he turns and stalks across the floor toward his desk.

I mutter a soft, sarcastic 'please' under my breath, and when he pauses, I wonder if he's heard me. He doesn't turn around, and when he sits down at his desk, I see him look over once before staring at his computer screen like it holds the secret of life.

Their next few interactions don’t go so well either but Bella quickly sees that there’s more to Edward than meets the eye. He gets mysterious calls that make him drop everything and leave early. He has issues when told he has to buy a medium cup of coffee because they’re out of small. He has weird eating habits and keeps himself separate from everyone else. He runs hot and cold with her and she can’t figure him out, but she begins to very much want to.

Lillybellis slowly allows the two to come together, tentatively at first, balancing on the edge of friendship and possibly more, or less, because it’s precarious. Then she takes us deeper and deeper until they’re both letting one another in. I won’t spoil what mystery Edward is hiding for those that haven’t read this gem yet, but I will say that both have complex family relationships and can maybe understand one another better than anyone else could.

Reading these two go from cold to hot to that perfect room temperature that a happy, settled couple should reach is a pleasure from start to finish. There’s something about them that will touch your heart and make you feel warm and so pleased for them. This story has a wonderful big brother, Emmett, and a really great Dad torn between the two women in his life in Charlie as well. You’ll feel like you came to life beneath the stars along with Bella and Edward. Give it a try!

Mondays can't be THAT bad when you have a fresh batch of new recs from The Lemonade Stand! Dive right in with some old faithful authors ...

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